Just about 75% funding! And a new product for the future
over 4 years ago – Thu, Sep 12, 2019 at 05:24:06 PM

Nice work! 75% to the funding goal in about 48 hours. At this rate, we should fund sometime next week, and then it's all about stretch goals.

In other news, though related, Kromm had indicated that he had signed off on a new GB endeavor. This sparked speculation on the SJG Forums about what it might be. 

I don't play things that coy, so I said if someone guessed, I'd confirm it if they were right. Well, someone guessed.

I said I would provide more details in a blog post, and here it is: The Norðlond Setting keeps growing.

Since that duplicates a bunch of stuff y'all already know (with respect to the Kickstarter, and you guys are already backers), here's the product announcement bit:

Announcing: Norðlond Bestiary and Enemies Book

Gaming Ballistic is thrilled to announce that we've been given the green light to develop a comprehensive bestiary for the Norðlond setting for the Dungeon Fantasy RPG.

It's going to be very meaty, to the tune of 200 to 250 creatures, mundane and magical. Making it Norðlond-specific and based on the Dungeon Fantasy RPG means that the project and its collaborators get to write to a common target. The specificity of it means each creature and entry can be tailored well enough that it's not just a list of generic creatures. The issue that plagues such projects is that it's impossible to guess what campaign flavor it's going to be in. By making this support Norðlond, it removes that constraint and allows me to be specific while not precluding other efforts or adaptations.

This is going to be, well, a beast of an endeavor. The good news is that tens, maybe even hundreds, of thousands of words already were written as part of a different project for this purpose. Some art even exists. And I even have a draft (work-in-progress, subject to change, etc.) cover:

A project this large will take a lot of funding to pull off. That's why I haven't rolled it in to the Norðlond Sagas kickstarter directly.

But I will say this: if by some miracle the current Kickstarter takes off and hits like $75,000 or $80,000 (which is a record-for-me-breaking campaign of 1200 to 1500 backers!), I'd not need to fund it separately to get to the printable PDF stage. I could develop it and only at the end use a short campaign to size the print run.

Wouldn't THAT be fun?

Just to be sure

This is not a formal stretch goal. It's not part of any pledge. It's not even an add-on. But it is the next project for Gaming Ballistic in the Dungeon Fantasy RPG space, and I intend to deliver it sometime in 2020. 

But funds are fungible. Cash is cool that way. And if one or the other of my projects, be they based on the Dungeon Fantasy RPG, The Fantasy Trip, or suddenly getting 1,000 full-price orders for the Dragon Heresy RPG brings me the funds to start development early,  well, I'll start early.

Hey, only 1,000 more backers to THIS project and we're there. How hard could that be? 

More copies? Yah, sure...you betcha
over 4 years ago – Tue, Sep 10, 2019 at 03:00:12 PM

I had a question on ordering more than one set of books.

You bet. If you want to gift them to someone else, or want to frame them, or whatever: A second set will be available regardless of final page count to backers at $60 per set. If we hit a stretch goal and page counts go up, anyone who actually has joined the campaign early - even the $1 folks - will be able to get more copies at this price. If page count goes up, pre-order backers coming in late will get the books at the post-campaign retail price (that's only $65 for the set instead of $60, but still). 

If there's interest in buying multiple copies of a particular book, those will be available too during the backerkit phase. 

• Nordlondr Folk: $10 in print, $5 in PDF; $13 as a bundle
• Rosgarth: $18 in print at 48 pages; $9 in PDF, and $23 as a bundle
• Forest's End: $21 in print at 64 pages; $11 as PDF; $26 bundle

[1] I find it amusing and awesome from a 'Monty Python jokes at the table' perspective that the sensible orders from a price perspective go one, two . . . FIVE! Because the retail box, which is not restricted to actual retailers, is at a 50% discount (but doesn't come with PDFs). So price wise, well: 1, 2, 5!

And we're off (and off to a good start, too!)
over 4 years ago – Tue, Sep 10, 2019 at 01:15:06 PM

Welcome to the Norðlond Sagas Kickstarter!

Thanks to the folks who have already jumped on board. We hit a solid stride early, and in the first three hours of the campaign, we're already sitting at 33% funding. That just ain't bad.

Milestones Already?

This is my eighth Kickstarter, but it marks a few milestones for Gaming Ballistic and the Dungeon Fantasy RPG.

• When it's finished, there will be a full half-dozen books supporting the Norðlond setting. Four setting/adventure books, and two rules supplements. That's credible.
• It's the second time I've asked for, and received, permission from SJG to play in the "rules" space. The first was with Fantastic Dungeon Grappling, which was inserted into the Boxed Set Reprint, much to my joy. The new book, Norðlondr Fólk, features some exciting options for character generation, with 16 new race and ancestry options and variations. 
• It's the first time in the Dungeon Fantasy RPG space that the products aren't written by me. This means three new people, who have never before written into a GURPS/Dungeon Fantasy RPG book, are joining the stable of "folks who have written for GURPS/Powered by GURPS." This makes me very happy, as more writers means more stuff.

Schedule

Just to give a rough idea of where things are supposed to go:

• Sept 10 through Oct 12: Kickstarter Campaign Active
• Oct 12 through (roughly) Oct 26 - Funds Settle
• Haloween Week: Backerkit phase opens for surveys, shipping, and pre-orders
•  Mid-November: Backerkit "closes" and cards are charged[1]
• End November: PDF review phase[2]
• Mid-December: PDF feedback due
• Before Xmas: PDFs sent out and final files sent to printer
• End January: Printing
• End February: Moving books through the world
• End March: Arrival in-hand

[1] Backerkit won't really CLOSE until the final printer files go out, so I know how many orders to place.

[2]The PDF review phase will see about 10% of the backers get preliminary files. These are chosen based on a combination of how much was pledged (total pledge amount, not pledge level) plus a random factor, so that the highest pledge levels get priority, but lower pledge levels are not locked out. This phase is IMPORTANT, and everyone who provides useful feedback will get credit in the book.

Ready, Set, GO!

So that's the plan for now. As noted in the various preview announcements, now that you've pledged, you can still help out. Share the link to social media. Start or contribute to a thread on the various RPG groups (which reminds me: gotta post on Reddit). Say nice things in places! It really does help.